Firestarter

Charlie McGee inherited pyrokinetic powers from her parents, who had been given a low-grade hallucinogen called "Lot Six" while at college. Now the government is trying to capture young Charlie and harness her powerful firestarting skills as a weapon.

As a Stephen King fan I love to listen to his books. Even though I am a member of the Los Angeles Library and can download books for free I cannot find enough of the books I love, like Mr. King. I was not disappointed in this book. This book is a Classic King with a great main character and great Bad guy. The performance was also very good. I believe this is one of his top ten written stories.

Great Masters: Beethoven - His Life and Music

Have you ever wondered how the lives of great composers-especially when set against the social, political, and cultural context of their world-influences their music?After listening to this perceptive series of eight lectures on the life and music of Ludwig van Beethoven, you will likely find that you hear his work in an entirely different way, your insight informed by new knowledge of how Beethoven was able to create masterpieces from the crises of his life.You'll learn about the years of progressive hearing loss-ultimately to produce total deafness-and the understandable agony and rage such a fate would bring upon a composer. About his deep depression over the end of his relationship with the woman he calls his Immortal Beloved. About his pathological hatred of authority, his persecution complex, even delusional behaviors.But you'll also learn how each of these crises, and many others, served to drive Beethoven inward, to reinvent himself and redeem his suffering through art, creating disruptive works of profound passion and beauty that reinvented the nature of musical expression in the Western world.

I knew very little of the man Beethoven and about the same about his music. Professor Greenberg educated me in both very well. His lectures were very clear, his use of portions of the music, made it very easy to understand his explanations of the music itself. I felt at the conclusion of the course I did have a bit of an understanding of the person, music and times of the great Beethoven.

What other book might you compare Great Masters: Beethoven - His Life and Music to and why?

If you are familiar with the Great Courses you will understand the format and amount of information available through these lectures. If you have not tried a Great Course I can strongly recommend them. The Audible website has scores of courses through the web.

Which scene was your favorite?

To hear that Beethoven, like many of the creative geniuses in history, was difficult to get along with was not as much of a shock as to find out about his instability as a person. Not only did he litigate with all he came in contact with, but he created his own mental world in which he lived.

The Remaining: Refugees

He has fought the fight, and run the race. But the enemies never stop coming, and the race has no finish line. It has been three months since Captain Lee Harden found the survivors at Camp Ryder. With winter looming, Lee is on the verge of establishing Camp Ryder as a hub of safety and stability in the region. But not everyone agrees with Lee’s mission... or his methods.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Remaining: Refugees to be better than the print version?

I do love the Christian Rummel's reading of this book. he does a very good job. But it is definitely D.J. Molles material that makes this series pop. I listened to the first book and before done downloaded the second, third and fourth. I have not listened to another book since I have started this series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Remaining: Refugees?

When the antagonist turns against the main group and gets enough others to do it too. It was so very anxiety producing.

Which character – as performed by Christian Rummel – was your favorite?

I still love the hero Lee Harding. He is such a believable hero with self doubts and personal foibles. What Molles does it make him a soldier first. As he says, “I am not a super hero. But a soldier and I am good at what I do."

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I did like when he finds another dog, but this is not an emotional book. The anxiety of working with the different groups led by inferior people is probably the most emotions of the book. the zombies are the least of the problems, it is the other survivors

Any additional comments?

I would start at the very first book and go through them one by one. They are all great but it is fun to build upon the foundations of the others.

Discovering Your Roots: An Introduction to Genealogy

Genealogy is a journey of self-discovery that can teach you as much about yourself as about those who came before you. But there's an obstacle that holds many of us back from unearthing our family history: uncertainty about how to go about it. With Dr. Colletta's 15 lectures, you'll learn the same skills and methodologies the experts use to solve genealogical mysteries, to create compelling nonfiction narratives, and to uncover information from the long-forgotten past in the most effective ways possible.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I have listened to The Great Courses for over ten years. But this course was hard to get through. It was not that the Professor was not interesting or did not know the material. He was entertaining and definitely understood his field. It was that the subject was entirely too technical for me. If you are not interested in the interacted details of how language developed this is not for you.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The length of each lecture was great (15 minutes) but I could not get into the material

Did Professor John Philip Colletta do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

He did a good job by bringing the material into the modern day world

Did Discovering Your Roots inspire you to do anything?

Yes, not listen to anything about Linguistics again

Any additional comments?

If you like or think you would like the basic of Linguistics then this is a good series to start with

The Remaining

In a steel-and-lead-encased bunker 20 feet below the basement level of his house, a soldier waits for his final orders. On the surface, a plague ravages the planet, infecting over 90% of the populace. The bacterium burrows through the brain, destroying all signs of humanity and leaving behind little more than base, prehistoric instincts. The infected turn into hyper-aggressive predators, with an insatiable desire to kill and feed. Someday soon, the soldier will have to open the hatch to his bunker, and step out into this new wasteland, to complete his mission....

The main character is well trained with knowledge and know how. I often wonder, what would I do if found in this situation. That is what the main character does. Not a lot of pounding his chest, just getting an impossible job done.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It would be Lee, the main character. He is a real person with his own fears and worries, but also the knowledge to help in most situations. He tries to do the right thing but gets mad at frustrating people too.

What does Christian Rummel bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voices are great. So great that a listener can see the character with just the voice he uses. But, not too over the top which was exactly what I was looking for.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did laugh out loud a couple of times as well as swore with frustrations when things went south

Any additional comments?

I already downloaded the next in the series and am on it. If you wonder about what would happen if... Then this is a great book.

From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History

For most of its 5,000-year existence, China has been the largest, most populous, wealthiest, and mightiest nation on Earth. And for us as Westerners, it is essential to understand where China has been in order to anticipate its future. These 36 eye-opening lectures deliver a comprehensive political and historical overview of one of the most fascinating and complex countries in world history.You'll learn about the powerful dynasties that ruled China for centuries; the philosophical and religious foundations-particularly Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism-that have influenced every iteration of Chinese thought, and the larger-than-life personalities, from both inside and outside its borders, of those who have shaped China's history. As you listen to these lectures, you'll see how China's politics, economics, and art reflect the forces of its past.From the "Mandate of Heaven," a theory of social contract in place by 1500 B.C.E., 3,000 years before Western philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, to the development of agriculture and writing independent of outside influence to the technologically-advanced Han Dynasty during the time of the Roman Empire, this course takes you on a journey across ground that has been largely unexplored in the history courses most of us in the West have taken.In guiding you through the five millennia of China's history, Professor Hammond tells a fascinating story with an immense scope, a welcome reminder that China is no stranger to that stage and, indeed, has more often than not been the most extraordinary player on it.

The Son

Part epic of Texas, part classic coming-of-age story, part unflinching portrait of the bloody price of power, The Son is an utterly transporting novel that maps the legacy of violence in the American West through the lives of the McCulloughs, an ambitious family as resilient and dangerous as the land they claim. Spring, 1849: Eli McCullough is 13 years old when a marauding band of Comanches takes him captive. Brave and clever, Eli quickly adapts to life among the Comanches, learning their ways and waging war against their enemies, including white men - which complicates his sense of loyalty and understanding of who he is.

I loved the development of the three main characters. The readers were also excellent. The emotional conflict each character has with his/her family and the time in which they live

Who was your favorite character and why?

Eli is so interesting. In some ways he is such a cowboy with an individual code of honor that the reader may not agree with. At one point he remembers seeing a 9 year old American Indian and says he is worth 1,000 men of his current time.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

All three were very good, probably great

If you could rename The Son, what would you call it?

Family is who you love and who you despise

Any additional comments?

I'd you are a lover of the Lonesome Dove Books I believe you will be very happy with this book

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness

Alexandra Fuller won worldwide attention, popular acclaim, and critical accolades for her memoir of her childhood in Africa, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight. This engaging follow-up explores Fuller’s parents’ childhoods and charts the trajectories of their lives through all the British couple’s experiences in war-torn Africa. With the same sharply etched narrative that has earned the author such immense praise, Fuller expands on and offers new insights into her family’s remarkable trials and successes.

What made the experience of listening to Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness the most enjoyable?

I love the truth and relationship between the family members. For the main character to have the nickname of a monkey is just the beginning of the joy, not fun, buy heartfelt joy of reading this book. The narator did a fantastic job and made the book even more enjoyable. I remember as a kid hearing of the wars in Africa between the ruling whites and the majority blacks, but this book gives you a feeling of life in that world.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love the Mom. She is both as trong character and so fragile psychologically. I love that she tries to make a family of artist during the trying time of war

Have you listened to any of Bianca Amato’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This book would not be nearly as interest without Biance. I found that her reading made the book for me. Out of my hundreds of audio books I have listened to she is probably the finest reader I have heard.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I could not stop. I listened to it while driving to work, at the gym or even sitting in my driveway before going in for the night. I could not put it down.

Any additional comments?

I had not listened to Ms. Fuller works before but now have all her audible works on my wish list which I will buy each month. She is like great candy and I will pace myself to enjoy her over the longest time possible. I strogly suggest this work.

Dead Man's Walk

In Dead Man's Walk, Gus and Call are not yet 20, young men coming of age in the days when Texas was still an independent republic. Enlisting as Texas Rangers under a land pirate who wants to seize Santa Fe from the Mexicans, Gus and Call experience their first great adventure in the barren great plains landscape, in which arbitrary violence is the rule -- whether from nature, or from the Indians whose territory they must cross in order to reach New Mexico.<

What made the experience of listening to Dead Man's Walk the most enjoyable?

Gus and Cal come alive in this book. One learns what drives them internally when they grow up. The ways that they care for each other, though neither ever says a word about their committment to each other.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I grew to like the Spanish Captain very much. How one hates him so much at the beginning and comes to empathize with him by the end of their journey. He knows that he is in a bad situation that will not turn out well for him and that he will be misunderstood. But his honor and pride of the obediance of the orders has him carry on even though he knows the results will be unfair to him

Have you listened to any of Will Patton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Mr. Patton did a great job and made it a joy to listen to this book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The inter actions between Gus and Cal often made me smile. The fruitlessness of the entire plan and the destruction of so many people made me sad.

Any additional comments?

One gets a feel of the abilities of the Camanches. I contacted the Texas ranger historical site after this book. He confirmed that the Camanches were probably the finest mounted calvary on the planet at the time.

Joyland

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. Joyland is a brand-new novel and has never previously been published.

I thinkwe can all relate to the main character who is in love with a person who does not feel the same. There is very little suppernatural about his book but I believe it is one of Mr. King's best novels (I have read/heard every novel he has written). I brought it everywhere I went and was sad that it was over.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked the young boy and his candor about his situation. The extra site was also fun to find what insites he may have.

Which character – as performed by Michael Kelly – was your favorite?

I liked the owner of the park. It was interesting to hear the extra language of Carney people and terms that they use.

Sharpe's Enemy: Book XV of the Sharpe Series

A band of renegades led by Sharpe's vicious mortal enemy, Obadiah Hakeswill, holds a group of British and French women hostage in a strategic mountain pass. On the other side of the pass, Napoleon's Grande Armie seeks to smash through and crash the British army in Portugal. Outnumbered and attacked from two sides, Sharpe must hold his ground or die in the attempt.

This is the third time I have read this book and still could not put it down. One loves to hate the main bad guy; but also the ability to bring in battles with the French. I also rally liked the bringing in the rocket brigade and how they worked against troops.

Mr. Corwell's ability to describe a battle scene and the chaos is awesome.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sharpe's Enemy?

Though it was small part of the story, when Sharpe gives the English officer (who thought he knew it all about battle) the true reality I just smiled and enjoyed it.

Have you listened to any of Frederick Davidson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Davidson is one of the finest of Sharpe's readers. This book seems to have more action than a traditional Sharpe book which was exciting.

Who was the most memorable character of Sharpe's Enemy and why?

I did love the general Nann. He is supportive and a curmudgeon at the same time. One gets the sence that if more officers were like him England could have ruled the world.

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